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Biggles and the Gun Runners/plot
Chapter 1: Three Men in a Bog Biggles is undercover as a pilot in an air transport company, and is flying as second pilot in a Lockheed Constellation with the aircraft captain Bob "Sandy" Grant. Their mission is to look for and retrieve the crew and cargo of a sister aircraft which had come down somewhere in the Sudd, an extensive area of wetlands in Sudan. They spot some smoke but before they can get closer, they are attacked by an unidentified fighter and forced to land. The fighter pilot turns out to be Lieutenant I'Nobo of the Congolese Air Force. He is on the lookout for a Constellation which is delivering weapons to Congolese rebels. He tells them the Congolese authorities had been informed that gun running Constellations would be coming this way. Biggles allows I'Nobo to inspect their aircraft, which, of course, is empty. Clearly puzzled, I'Nobo apologizes and departs. Chapter 2: The Only Way The back story is now told. Air Commodore Raymond has received orders to put an end to a spate of gun running activities which have been going on by air. Someone, it seems, has been delivering weapons to various rebel groups and trouble makers around the world. Biggles tells him the only way is for him to fake his retirement and then hope to get employed by the right people and thereby infiltrate the organisation behind this. Chapter 3: A Proposition Biggles has to wait three weeks after his "retirement" when he finally gets a call to meet one Count Alexander Stavropulos. He runs an air transport company and wants to employ Biggles. Chapter 4: Biggles Does Some Thinking Biggles has a little time to think before departing with the Count on the job. He is puzzled. Except for the fact that the pay offered by the Count sounded a bit too generous, everything else the Count said seemed to imply a legitimate business. Had he penetrated the wrong organisation? Nonetheless he calls Algy and tells him what happend. If he does not call with an update within a week, then Algy should conclude that something has gone wrong. Chapter 5: Always the Unexpected Biggles departs Southend Airport with the Count on board an American Courier transport. Their destination is Noriovika, the Count's private airfield in the north of Greece. Biggles finds the Count's explanation for using a private airfield--to avoid landing fees--plausible but a little unconvincing. Nonetheless the Count continues to stress that he doesn't tolerate any illegal activity on the part of his pilots. Landing at Noriovika, Biggles is surprised to meet, among the employees, Roderick Canson. There is an argument, and the Count seems genuinely alarmed to learn that Canson had a police record. Chapter 6: The First Job Sandy introduces himself as Biggles' partner and they settle down to a few days of inaction. Neither the Count nor Miskoff, his traffic manager, put in an appearance. Early in the morning of the third day wakes Biggles and tells him they must be off urgently. Canson and Jumbo Brady, another pilot, are down in the Sudd in a Constellation and they must go and retrieve them and the cargo. Chapter 7: Plain Speaking The story now goes forward to after Biggles and Sandy had been forced down by I'Nobo. Later in the day, Canson turns up to say his aircraft is a few miles away, stuck in the mud. He too had been forced down by I'Nobo. Brady had gone off to get help. Canson is clearly surprised when Biggles tells him I'Nobo was on the look out for gun runners. He insists his aircraft is only carrying farm machinery. Chapter 8: A Queer Business The next day, Biggles, Canson and Sandy make their way to the other Constellation. Biggles inspects the cargo and finds that, suspiciously, they are meant to be air dropped by parachute over Carisville. They open the crates and find guns! Chapter 9: Problems Biggles convinces the others that the best option is to hide the weapons. They bury the contraband among a clump of tamarisk bushes nearby. They only just manage this and then Sandy spots a party of troops approaching. Chapter 10: Abandoned The next morning, Biggles and Sandy wake up to hear aircraft engines and find that Canson had sneaked back to the Biggles' Constellation and had taken off, intending to abandon his colleagues and escape. However he doesn't get far--I'Nobo is on patrol and promptly shoots him downin flames. He turn comes over and drops a smoke marker on where Biggles and Sandy are, clearly indicating their position to the approaching ground troops. Chapter 11: Biggles Comes Back Brady comes back to the Constellation. He had managed to get a message home to base but on his way back he had been captured by a Congolese patrol but he escaped although he had been shot in the thigh. Brady insists that the other two leave him but Biggles won't hear of it. Biggles has seen a dead buffalo nearby--evidently shot by the Congolese troops--and he goes off to fetch some food. He returns to find Sandy in an argument with the Congolese patrol. Chapter 12: Sergeant Ducard Talks Sergeant Ducard, in charge of the Congolese troops, tells Biggles that he has orders to shoot anyone carrying arms. His government had received a telegram from a certain Miskoff telling them to expect Constellations carrying arms. Biggles invites him to search the aircraft and he does, emerging rather puzzled to find it empty. Ducard then demands that Biggles and Sandy come with them to Congo, leaving Brady behind. Biggles refuses so he threatens to shoot them there and then. Fortunately the tense atmosphere is defused by the arrival of I'Nobo. He lands his fighter nearby but gets it stuck in the mud. Chapter 13: Biggles Shows How Biggles tells I'Nobo he might be able to free his fighter from the mud. In exchange he asks I'Nobo to fly off and then come back and drop them some food. This I'Nobo promises to do. Biggles has the Congolese troops hold on to the aircraft while powering up to full throttle and then releasing it together in unison. After a few tries, this succeeds in freeing the aircraft. I'Nobo flies off, promising to return with food. Ducard, obviously unhappy that I'Nobo prevented him from shooting Biggles and the others, also moves off with his patrol. Chapter 14: A Shadow in the Tamarisks The pilots settle down to make a meal with the buffalo meat Biggles had collected but they then spot a movement in the nearby tamarisk bushes. It turns out to be Christmas, a deserter from Ducard's patrol. Biggles allows him to stay but he is forced to hide in the Constellation when Ducard returns looking for his lost man. Chapter 15: Ducard Forces a Showdown The next morning, I'Nobo returns, dropping them a bag of food and a note telling them to wait. They settle down to a good meal from the contents of the bag but then Ducard turns up again and demands that the food is his. He tells Biggles and Sandy to come with them but again Biggles refuses, whereupon he orders his men to load and be ready to shoot. It might have been all over but then an aircraft approaches, this time, Count Stavropulos' Courier. The plane lands and, to Biggles' surprise out steps Algy and Ginger. Foiled once again, Ducard moves off with his men. Chapter 16: Algy Explains Algy explains how they came to be there. He and Ginger had read in the newspapers that the Count's aircraft had been forced down in the Sudd for suspected gun running. Algy had gone to confront the Count who was as surprised as anybody else and insisted his company would never do such a thing. He determined to go to the Congo to clear the matter up and offered Algy and Ginger a lift. Arriving at Masinda, the Count had kicked up a big fuss, demanding explanations from the Congolese authorities. There they had met I'Nobo who corroborated the Count's case that his aircraft did not carry any arms. I'Nobo also showed Algy and Ginger where the downed Constellation was and the Count lent his aircraft to fetch the stranded pilots. Chapter 17: How It Ended Brought to Masinda, Biggles tells the Count that one of the Constellations was in fact carrying weapons but he is convinced none of the pilots knew about it. He believes the Count was innocent as well. The true culprit is Miskoff, who is playing a double game, helping some communist power smuggle arms to the Congolese rebels, and then tipping off the Congolese government, thus getting paid by both sides. Biggles concludes his duties for the Count's company by returning to the Constellation and digging it out and flying it back to Noriovika. Christmas, who had been left at the Constellation had disappeared. Based on Biggles' report, the Greek government later sets a trap and arrests Miskoff and his arms smuggling confederates, thus putting an end to the gun running activities. Category:Plot summaries